a massive search and rescue operation is under way to find those still missing. the death toll is climbing as new questions are emerging. did authorities do enough to warn residents? team coverage ahead. the president now signaling that a meeting with special counsel robert mueller is unlikely, despite telling abc news he would be 100% willing to answer questions under oath in the russia investigation, this at white house expands a ban on the use of digital devices by staffers. plus an

who mysteriously disappeared while home, he's now been found dead. authorities are calling it a homicide as they can close in on a killer. you know it's going to be a bad day when this happens. see how it ends on this thursday, january 11th. from abc news, this is "world news now." and we do say good morning to everybody on this thursday. we're going to start in southern california where hundreds of first responders are looking for those still missing in the mudslides. >> at least 17 people are dead and the same number missing. emergency alerts did not go out to cell phones until after the destructive flooding had already begun in montecito and santa barbara county. >> officials were concerned that if an alert was issued and the damage was not that bad future alerts may not be taken seriously. we get more on the disaster from marci gonzalez. >> reporter: search and rescue teams, friends and

working into the night. >> josie! >> reporter: hoping to find survivors, swept away by the powerful mudslides. among the missing here in southern california, robert riskin's mother. >> i can't focus too much on she's most likely dead out here. and just push my way through. >> reporter: for others, some home. >> some of those who were unaccounted for have been located safely. and reunited with their loved ones. >> reporter: but the death toll is also rising. at least 17 people killed, including roy roeder, swept away from his home by the fast-moving mud and boulders. the mud barrelled down these canyons bare, with nothing to stop the overwhelming deluge from the storm. >> .86 of an inch in 15 minutes is an unprecedented rainfall on any surface, much less a four-burned

>> this is unbelievable. >> reporter: among the 400 homes damaged or destroyed, one right next door to oprah winfrey's. >> my neighbor's house devastated. >> reporter: in montecito, hundreds of people still surrounded by feet of muck and stranded, with no electricity and no running water. and officials say it may take months for water service to be restored, meaning the entire town may now be forced to evacuate. kendis and maggie, back to you. >> and that really gives you a sense of how devastating that really is. and another issue, a minor issue, relatively. getting around the affected area is very difficult. >> main coastal highway between l.a. and santa barbara, the 101 freeway is going to be shut through at least monday. >> some residents can't even get out of their homes. coast guard rescue flights will resume at daybreak, but hundreds of other residents were rescued and hundreds of others are waiting to be

of the choppers. >> reporter: in the last 24 hours they have made some 29 rescues and are flying high over this damage area. as you look out there, you can see all of these homes completely surrounded by mud in all areas. look at the rock and mud have pushed down out of this canyon. they've flattened trees, moved cars, yet somehow just in the last, they've been completely spared. those who make it out will never be the same after this storm. >> the remnants of that storm system responsible for the mudslides is now moving through the central part of the country. you can see it there. it will bring snow, wind and strong winds. >> overnight it's going to move out of the rockies into the plains leaving behind as much as a foot of snow as well as frigid temperatures. late tomorrow it will be drenching rain in the east coast. okay we move on right now to president trump who seems to be

interviewed by special counsel robert mueller. the president isn't committing to such an interview, but that wasn't what he initially told abc news. our jonathan karl reports from the white house. >> reporter: it's a key pledge president trump has made again and again. that he is willing to be interviewed by special counsel robert mueller. at the white house, he seemed to backtrack. >> we'll see what happens. certainly, i'll see what happens. but when they have no collusion and nobody's found any collusion at any level, it seems unlikely that you'd even have an interview. >> reporter: but abc news has confirmed that mueller has told the president's lawyers he is likely to request an interview with the president. in june, the president told us he would do it. would you be willing to speak under oath to give your version of those events? >> 100%. >> reporter: so if robert mueller wanted to speak with you -- >> i would be glad to tell him what i just told you. >> reporter: this past weekend he was asked again and said he

>> if robert mueller asks you to come and speak with his chit committee personally, are you committed to doing that? >> just so you understand, there's been no collusion. sort of like, when you've done nothing wrong, let's be open and get it over with. >> reporter: but when asked directly if he would meet with mueller, the president hedged. >> i'll speak to attorneys. i'll say this. there was absolutely no collusion. everybody knows it. >> reporter: even as mueller continues his investigation, several committees in congress are also looking into russian meddling in the campaign. the president dismissed it all as quote, the single greatest kwich hu witch hunt in american history adding that the republicans should finally take control. the senate leading one investigation made this comment. >> i don't intend to have a discussion request the president -- with the president and i hope he doesn't call me and tell me the same thing that you said he said. >> reporter: and a

issued to white house staff banning their use of private cell phones in the west wing, it applies to smart watches, radios, laptops and any other devices with radio, cellular or bluetooth capability. this is about security, but make no mistake about it, this is an effort to crackdown on leaks at the white house. jonathan karl, the white house. congressional negotiators say they're getting closer to a deal to present the so-called d.r.e.a.m.ers. the 800,000 undocumented immigrants brought to the united states as children. president trump says he has one firm condition before he signs any deal. >> got to include the wall. we need the wall for security. we need the wall for safety. we need the wall for stopping the drugs from pouring in. so the answer is, have to have the wall. >> congressional republicans

wall, but it's unclear exactly what form it's going to tachblgt lawmakers are busy also seek agn a new spending bill. there were raids in 17 states and the district of columbia, some of the store owners may face fines. one of the most powerful members of congress has decided not to seek reelection in november. republican daryl aissa of southern -- darrell issa will not be seeking reelection. his district supported hillary clinton a year ago. so democrats are hopeful of flipping issa's seat. yaenld residents may soon be able to

or a six pack of beer on a sunday. >> on a sunday! >> the lord's day. >> to relax the decades-old prohibition, the ban on alcohol sales is costing them $12 million a year to neighboring states. i'm surprised it's not more. >> so it all becomes a money thing. i do remember living in georgia, and we would try to find a neighboring state that would do it. the carolinas didn't, and alabama did not. so we're like. >> i grew up in a dry town in massachusetts. we would have to go all the way over the border, one foot on each side, and there's a liquor store there. this next story didn't happen on a monday, but it is the epitome of a case of the mondays. >> all been there. this guy in virginia is heading to work. he ends up slipping. what's going to happen, what's going to happen.

>> ah. >> he's fine. his wife tweeted that he could not stop laughing. sounds like a good wife. that's a good, supportive spouse. and she posted the video. >> do you just give up at that point? yeah, she posted it. >> just go back home. go back in. quit the day. >> that's a good -- >> santa's still out there. meet the kid who's better at baseball than many of us. and he's not even 2. bryce harper is jealous of this kid. and what caused this highway inferno. so hot it melted the road. >> and remember to follow our instagram from behind the scene pictures, abc wnn. you're watching "world news now."

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the heat from that fire so intense that the asphalt melted.

interstate 65 in southern indiana. one of the three tractor-trailers involved was carrying hazardous chemicals, forcing the evacuation of nearby homes. one person was injured in the accident. an ivy league student who disappeared in southern california has been found death and police are investigating the death as a homicide. >> the body of blaze bernstein was found tuesday in the orange county park in which he disappeared. bernstein's father says the family is devastated. >> from our family and from blaze, we thank you. this woman has been my rock this last week. our children. are so strong. and we just want to see resolution, and we want to thank the sheriff's department for all that they've done. >> bernstein attended the university of pennsylvania and was home in california on winter

investigating several leads. a school board in louisiana is now the target of death threats after a teacher was arrested at a meeting. >> the english teacher was confronting the school board and superintendent over his raise when a marshal insisted that she leave the room. >> reporter: it has people across the world upset and calling in threats to the school board. daysha hargrave speaking her mind in abbeyville, louisiana, frustrated that they were giving this man, the superintendent, a nearly $30,000 raise while handing out nothing extra to teachers. >> a superintendent or any person in leadership getting any type of raise i feel is a slap in the face of teachers, cafeteria workers. >> reporter: but the board was only trying to hear public comes and not a debate, so they asked her to leave. for some reason, the second she walked out. >> what are you doi

>> reporter: she was on the ground, put in hand cuffs and charged with resisting an officer. the school board president blames the teacher. but hargrave took to facebook to defend herself. >> by silencing my voice, they've tried to take away my first amendment rights to speak and i'm appalled at this and you should be too. >> reporter: steve osunsami, abc news, atlanta. >> the city attorney by the way refused to charge her, the aclu as well as the national education association are getting behind her on this. le. >> should be interesting to see, though, she is not going quietly. >> no, she did not, understandably. see what happened at the biggest tech event of the year, as everyone was plunged into the dark ages. >> look at that, it's dark. but first, one on one with tonya hardi.

the moment that brought the tough as nails skater to tears. t easier. lyrics: ooh-oo child, lyrics: things'll get brighter. lyrics: ooh-oo child lyrics: thing's are gonna get easier. lyrics: ooh-oo child, lyrics: things'll get brighter.

some guy hit her. >> really? >> some man hit her. >> why? why? >> you've all heard that infamous scream from nancy kerrigan in 1994. and now it is forever linked to tonya harding's legacy. tonya harding still says she had nothing to do with it. >> but now she's opening up. she opened up to amy row balk and the moment that brings her to tears. >> reporter: a do or die moment. that leap into the ai

by the uncertainty of how those razor-thin blades would land. there's one jump that's synonymous with her name and gave her the edge with her competition. what is a triple axle? >> it is a jump that takes off in a forward position on a left forward leg. >> that forward takeoff is very intimidating. >> lifting up into the air. >> you probably twirl three times. >> which adds more time in the air, more time to have trouble, more mistakes. >> coming down on one leg in a check position that can stop a rotation that comes down with 420 pounds of pressure on one foot. >> reporter: whatever made you think that could you do that? >> what makes people think i can't? >> reporter: after perfecting the triple axle in practice, tonya took it to competition and hit the ice in minneapolis for the 1991 u.s. championships. >> whether she will

american to attempt a triple axel jump. good girl! >> the crowd's going crazy, she's pumping her fists in the air, she knows she's done it. >> and it was like, bam! i was like, yes! i've watched that footage a thousand times, and every time it makes my grin, like no. no one can do that. it's just not something people can do. >> reporter: with the triple axle, tonya secured her place in the history books and was now ready for the olympics. it's something that still brings her to tears. tell me what you were thinking. >> holy [ bleep ] i just did it. nobody else did it. nobody helped me. land that triple axle right there. in that moment. >> reporter: you made history. >> i did. i di

axle's pretty difficult, even for the movies. >> even for the professionals, margo robbie who's playing tonya said that the two professional ice skaters couldn't do it. they had to use computers. coming up, meet the toddler with the major league swing. why did we re-engineer america's #1 detergent? because no matter what life brings, our commitment to clean remains the same. now with 10x the cleaning power. tide, america's #1 detergent

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like hit the ball into their big screen tv. but dad was a minor league baseball player, so the kid has got something going. he sleeps with a baseball at night. >> father like son. now to other sports. wrestling, i like the next clip because -- >> really, you call that a sport. >> this wrestler, it's funny, it's a big man in a small restroom. take a look. this is wwe wrestler keith slater, and he got stuck in an airplane bathroom. he was on a miami-bound flight, trying to get to monday night raw. the next day, and too bad, he gets stuck in the little bathroom. >> oh, big guy in a little bathroom. >> i'm not that big. >> he's taking it with a smile. of. >> fans were really concerned.

with a great, great idea for an ad. here's a look at the ad. the ad company, it looks like just a normal magazine ad. but, if you p eee on the ad and you're pregnant it reveals a special discounted code for you and a discounted price on cribs. >> it's genius, disgusting but genius. >> it was only awkward when i peeed on it and it said i was pregnant. >> congratulations. i hope you don't of hand that to somebody, an online discount code. you're welcome. it's a little damp. all right, from disgusting to adorable. we talked about sloths yesterday. they're back today. a new, oh, my gosh. a baby sloth, five months old,

vivian, two and a half pounds, born a couple months ago at the national aviary in pittsburgh. >> mom went into

the disease is spreading across the country. how long does it take to become effective? the race to find the missing in california's mudslides. a family member who just won't give up hope. and new this half hour, going low tech at the biggest high-tech party on the